Valoo and Volvagia
by lunarcat5
Summary: The story of the creation of the megaton hammer and te original sealing of Volvagia


It was a pleasant evening for the two brothers. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon, and the warmth from the volcano below them was quite relaxing. Valoo hummed softly to himself as his brother munched on some treat that he was carrying in a bag.  
  
"Could I have some of whatever it is you are eating?" Valoo inquired of his companion. "Sssure," Volvagia hissed with a grin.  
  
Opening his sack and pulling out a small brown morsel, Volvagia watched his brother with a look of expectation. Valoo gaped at the object in Volvagia's hand, speechless. For grasped in the serpent's claws was a squirming, slightly overfed Goron.  
  
"That's a Goron," Valoo finally managed to croak out. "Yesss, and a rather plump one at that. You are luck that I am ssso willing to part with sssuch a delicacy," Volvagia replied with a smirk.  
  
Finally regaining his composure, Valoo squinted at his brother with a quizzical look and asked, "how long have you been eating Gorons? You know full well that they are our protected people. What ever possessed you to commit such an atrocity?"  
  
Volvagia regarded his brother with a look of superiority. "I have decided that they are better usssed as fodder than asss followers. I don't know why we ever bothered to protect them. They are ussselesss." With this statement, Volvagia braced his hind legs, and with a mighty thrust shoved his brother off the mountain and then slithered into the crater, curling himself into little coils with a look of satisfaction.  
  
Valoo pondered his predicament for a moment and then flew away, muttering under his breath.  
  
Now, it was during this time that a few of the Goron people had ventured beyond the slopes of their mountain and into the world of the Hylians. Of these, there was one particular young Goron, who's name was Dareen, who had taken up shop in the Hyrule town market as a blacksmith, a job which suited him very well. He spent his days shoeing horses and making plows, as that was all there was call for in these peaceful times.  
  
On one bright morning, as Dareen was going about his trade, the sun was suddenly blotted out by what appeared to be a huge winged lizard. Dareen had never seen such a beast, but he had heard of them. Dragons, they were called, among his people.  
  
As the villagers scattered, Dareen stood his ground, and watched as the great red dragon landed in front of him with a sort thud.  
  
"Dareen?" The dragon inquired with a flick of his tongue.  
  
Dareen stared for a moment, surprised to hear his name come from such a fantastic creature. "Yes" he replied hesitantly, "that is what I am called."  
  
The dragon observed the trembling Goron for a few minutes. "You have been chosen by the Gods to save your people. Do you accept this quest?"  
  
Dareen gaped. Surely the dragon was mistaken. Why would the Gods choose a lowly blacksmith when there was this mighty dragon who was much more suited for the job. As if reading Dareen's mind, the dragon went on, "my name is Valoo. My brother Volvagia has taken to slaughtering your people one by one. As I am a God, I cannot meddle directly in the affairs of another God, fallen or otherwise. My associates and I have deemed you worthy to wield a sword cast on the forge of the sacred realm against the serpent Volvagia. DO YOU ACCEPT?"  
  
With that, Dareen lost all sense, and started babbling incoherently. The surrounding townspeople, who had been peeking through closed shutters, watched the goings on with anxiety. The concept of a fallen God was bad enough, but the fate of a race, and quite possibly the world, left in the hands of this babbling idiot of a blacksmith? That was just too much.  
  
After a few minutes of babbling and hyperventilation, Dareen passed out, only to awaken in a new location with that dragon still staring at him with the same stern expression. "You are not joking, are you?" Dareen hesitantly asked. The dragon smiled, showing a few too many teeth for Dareen's comfort, and replied, "no, I'm not. Only a fool would joke about such dire events. Well? You still haven't answered my question. I can't force you, so the decision is yours."  
  
Dareen stared at his charred apron thoughtfully. "I am merely a small town blacksmith. I know nothing of swords. What good am I to you?"  
  
"Plenty," Valoo answered patiently. "You are the one who's destiny it is to save your people. Not even the Gods can change destiny." The dragon again smiled at the flustered Goron.  
  
"All right, I'll do it. Just tell me where to go, and..." Dareen let his words trail off and sighed. "I don't think I could use a sword, though."  
  
Valoo smiled broadly and lifted the Goron onto his back. "We will make you a hammer instead. A hammer would suit you better, anyhow." With that, the dragon lifted off the ground and rose high into the air.  
  
It seemed ages before the pair finally landed again. When they did, and Valoo lifted Dareen to the ground, it was in a place of great wonder. Somehow they had landed inside a vast temple. The walls shone with an unearthly light, and the floor seemed to flow as if it were made of water.  
  
Dareen looked around in wonder. "Where are we?" he asked quietly. There was something about this place that made him not want to disturb the silence.  
  
"We are in the Temple of Light in the Sacred Realm," Valoo answered quietly with a look of approval at Dareen's reverence. Wait here, and I will get your weapon." With that, the dragon launched into the air and disappeared out of sight.  
  
Dareen sat down on the floor and rolled into a ball, as was the way of the Gorons. "What have I gotten mixed up in?" he asked himself out loud. "No doubt, I am about to die, and let my people die as well. The Gods must have made a mistake..."  
  
"The Gods do not make mistakes," came a voice from behind Dareen. Dareen jumped to his feet and whipped around all in one swift motion just to come face to face with a young Hylian, not much older than himself.  
  
"Very good reflexes, especially for a Goron." The young man said with a faint smile. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rauru. I work here. The Gods chose me to keep watch over their temple here." Rauru bowed to Dareen with a flourish.  
  
"My name is Dareen," the puzzled Goron replied. "You live here in the sacred realm? Why did the Gods not choose you to kill the serpent?"  
  
"Because," came the rumbling voice of Valoo from above, "it is your destiny, not his. His destiny lies in another place and another time." Valoo landed next to Dareen, holding the largest hammer that the young Goron had ever laid eyes on. "Here is your weapon," Valoo said as he offered the hammer to Dareen.  
  
Dareen eyed the hammer warily and then with a look of doubt held out his hand. Bracing himself for the impending weight, Dareen closed his eyes and held his breath. Valoo place the hammer in Dareen's hand. To his surprise, the hammer weighed less even than his forge hammers. "What good is a hammer with no weight against a God?" He asked with dismay.  
  
"It is a sacred hammer," Valoo patiently explained. It will seal the fallen one away. Have no fear, it will suffice." With that, Valoo nodded to the smiling Rauru, slung Dareen onto his shoulder, and once again took to the air.  
  
Valoo finally landed on the edge of the crater of Death Mountain and set the small Goron down next to him. Watching as his brother uncoiled himself, Valoo began to doubt his own actions. Sure, eating innocents was wrong, but this was, after all, his brother. Shaking his head and ridding his mind of such thoughts, Valoo nudged Dareen and then lifted into the air, disappearing into the clouds.  
  
Dareen watched in horror, gripping his hammer with all his might, as the enormous serpent Volvagia uncoiled himself and rose up out of the crater.  
  
"That fool brother of mine expectsss a tiny Goron with a pitiful hammer to overcome me?!" The dragon asked no one in particular. " I am amazed that he could be ssso daft. Obviousssly, I got the brainsss in the family. "  
  
Dareen braced himself and belted out a the dragon, "leave my people alone!" He felt his spirits lift slightly as the sun shone down on his shoulders.  
  
"You little fool!" Volvagia bellowed at the Goron, "how dare you be ssso insssolent?! Jussst for that, I am going to eat every lassst one of your people, and force you to watch every painful crunch!" Volvagia circled around the top of the mountain, then slipped inside, only to reemerge with a Goron clenched in each fist.  
  
"Challenge thisss, you little rock-eater!" Volvagia leaned his head down to where Dareen was standing and rested his chin on the ground. With tauntingly slow movements, Volvagia began to open his mouth. But before he could, Dareen jumped toward him with a mighty yelp, slamming the hammer into the dragon's skull. The dragon shuddered and jerked violently back and forth until, finally falling over into the crater and ceasing all movement.  
  
Dareen stared with awe at his hands, astounded that he had been able to pull off such a feat. Wondering if it was really over, Dareen peered into the crater just to be met with a gruesome sight. The dragon Volvagia was laying prone with blood flowing from his forehead. He was not breathing. The sight was somehow not as reassuring as Dareen had thought it would be.  
  
"He will be back," came the voice of Valoo from behind Dareen. "And he will be stronger. Your hammer has sealed him for now, but I fear a greater evil is afoot. Perhaps not for many years, but he will return."  
  
Dareen stared thoughtfully at the hammer in his hand. "I should put this where the next one to be chosen will be able to find it."  
  
"Yes," agreed Valoo with a sad expression. "The next one..."  
  
Valoo returned Dareen to his home after helping him to find a suitable place for the hammer and then returned to the site of his brother's demise.  
  
"Why?" he asked the prone and motionless figure of Volvagia. "Why did it have to be this way?  
  
And the dragon wept. And to this day, if you look hard enough at the stone which makes up the walls of the crater on Death Mountain, you can see the tiny diamond flecks that were the dragon Valoo's tears. 


End file.
